90% Road Trips: Seattle

This is the first in a series I hope to see more of from you Krazy Kats...a photo tour of a ballpark. The next time you're in one, take some snaps and post them here.

And now...enjoy Safeco Field in downtown Seattle.

"We see it all .... the girls flash their tits so the guys in the bullpen will give them a ball," Amy Heinrich, Waitress at Bullpen bar, U.S. Cellular

The White Sox are not going to fade. Their pitching is too good, their manager is too crazy, and Konerko will find the left field seats 10 more times. Their team has been there before, and they'll turn it up when they need to.

When Detroit welcomes the White Sox next Monday, the Tigers will get an appetizer of what post season play is all about.

FS

The 1984 Detroit Tigers led the American League in Strikeouts. The 2006 team leads the American League in Strikeouts. If the team 22 years ago won by free swinging, can the team 22 years later do the same thing ?

The Tiger leadoff hitter from Chicago, Curt Granderson, has K'd 129 times through 8/16. It bothers me a little, but it's not the end of the world. His On Base average isn't terrible, and he can get base hits.

Brooks Inge strikes out a ton too, and he makes up for it with home runs and catlike defense at 3rd. As far as I'm concerned, Craig Monroe can strike out as much as he wants because the kid delivers when he's called upon. (With Polanco out I wouldn't mind seeing Craig stay at batter #2).

The guys that whiff the most are the guys that are very valuable to the team in other ways. You can win with the 3 run homer and strike out more than anyone else as long as you play solid defense and get clutch, timely hitting when you need it. The Tigers have had both this campaign. And by the way, their team pitching hasn't been too shabby either. I like our chances at glory and hopefully we can make some of our rivals pout.

Caption Contest

Hat tip to Sivert...

WHAT PRESSURE?

Tigers 3, Red Sox 2.

Eat your hat, Murray Chass.

Now Here's a Weird Item . . .

Deadspin linked to this thoroughly bizarre "News & Notes" item about Torii Hunter. Hunter is as good a defensive outfielder as there has, maybe, ever been. And while a smidge of superstition is one thing, this is just . . . Well, decide for yourselves:

The Last Word

Twins center fielder Torii Hunter microwaves his glove for 30 seconds if he fails to make a play the night before. After an error, it's two minutes.

"That's punishment [for the glove]," Hunter said. "You do something bad, you go to hell."

Nights At Chavez Ravine: A Report On The Winning Streak

While I won't disagree that the dramatic heart of baseball is located squarely in the AL Central this season (and if you asked me to make a futures book on the World Series right now, I'd honestly tell you that I'd rank whichever two teams emerge from that division among the three favorites to win it all), it's worth noting what the Dodgers are up to right now. I've been to the Stadium three times in the last four games and I'm going back again on Tuesday. Here's some of what's going on down there:

- Both winning streaks and losing streaks, in my experience, seem to make their own inertia and take on weird lives of their own. This Dodger run (14/15 at present) has that feeling--when Kenny Lofton is giving you walk-off hits, you know there's a little magic afoot. It's fun to feel like you're going to win every game, even when you're behind, and then to be right.

- From August to October, the effectiveness of almost every team's bullpen becomes freakishly vital. The Dodgers bullpen has, under the radar, gotten really, really good. For all the talk about the bats Colletti has picked up, I think the relief pitching is the key right now. Brett Tomko is an ideal set-up guy, far more effective in relief than as a starter. Aaron Sele, another converted starter, is a great inning-eater when necessary. Jonathan Broxton is going to be a great closer in a year or two and in the meantime, Takashi Saito is the best closer nobody is talking about. Opponents just aren't hitting or scoring much against us in the second half of games. L.A. will have a Gagne-hangover for the rest of the year--there won't be any signature songs for Saito or Broxton when they come out to start the ninth (although they are, rather tragically, playing "Big, Bad John" at some point during Broxton's appearances)--but the fact is the bullpen has fully recovered and Saito (see pic-of-the-week above) is lights-out.

- Rafael Furcal looks much more comfortable at shortstop than he did in the first half of the season. Hard to blame him: most shortstops would press with Cesar Izturis observing them from the bench; it would be like trying to talk to your actors with Stanley Kubrick sitting on a director's chair on your set, watching you. Furcal will never be an artist of Izturis's stature, but he's doing his job now, finally, and hitting the crud out of the ball. He plays with spunk and I have to hand that to him. (I still can't believe we traded Kubrick to England for prospects early in his career; what were we thinking?!)

- Chad Billingsley is an interesting x-factor. There's a rumor that he's going to be skipped for his next start--they'll start Sele instead--because of his wildness and high pitch counts. His fastball was off by four or five mph when I saw him a couple days ago and that's really a concern. But the fact is, he's got amazing potential and we'll need him for the playoffs.

- Even though this team has a lot of new additions, it feels like there really are "Dodgers" on the roster. The fans love the young guys: Andre Ethier, Russ Martin mainly but also James Loney and Broxton. I personally think Matt Kemp will be a big contributor after September call-ups. This is a big deal for a team with our tradition of home-grown prospects--I need to feel like our team has a Dodger personality. And then there's Olmedo Saenz, who feels to me, like the soul of the team. I say he's the second-greatest Dodger pinch-hitter ever, after Manny Mota, and I genuinely believe he's going to win important games off the bench. Even Garciaparra and Kent feel like "Dodgers" because L.A. is their hometown. All this feels somehow relevant. Yes, there are a lot of new faces, but this doesn't feel like a store-bought team.

- Grady Little seems to have his guys onboard with being "components" right now. Julio Lugo is an excellent shortstop--frankly, he looks a little uncertain at third and even second--but he seems totally game for whatever is needed from him. Betemit could clearly be an everyday player, but he looks okay platooning. (Betemit looks just great, by the way--that's going to turn out to be the really killer trade.) But will a team of guys who don't really know each other stay on the same page and feel good about playing out of position if and when the winning stops?

The fact is, I can be prescient and smart about most of what happens in baseball until we start talking about the Dodgers, and then I just get extrordinarily dumb. (I'm the guy who was so enamored of the Expos in the early '90s that I thought, for a few weeks anyway, that getting Delino DeShields for Pedro Martinez might not be such a bad deal!) I get too negative when it's not necessary and vice-versa. So take this with a grain of salt: the Dodgers should definitely win their division, but I still see potential problems. The chemistry is strange. You've got J.D. Drew who feels weirdly apathetic and could, at any time, go back on the DL. I spend much of the games I go to watching the middle infielders and I've never seen two who communicate less than Kent and Furcal--they're both weird, prickly guys to begin with, but honestly it's just strange. With a runner on first Furcal will be signaling about who's going to cover on a steal and Kent will never even look at him. Derek Lowe feels like a train-wreck waiting to happen. And OF COURSE we have to remember that this is the NL Worst and winning the division probably means a quick trip out of the playoffs. But after the Mets (who have no excuse not to win the pennant) the whole league looks shaky enough that who knows.

I have no grand summary here, no big predictions. But it's a really interesting team to watch right now. Tonight's ESPN game is must-see TV: Maddux v. Schmidt with the Dodgers going for a sweep of their rivals. ESPN will play up the Bonds v. Maddux angle, but believe me, Bonds ain't that scary right now. Schmidt, however, is.

Gr-r-reat!

" If heaven ain't a lot like Detroit, I don't wanna go. If heaven ain't a lot like Detroit, I'd just assume stay home. If they ain't got no 8 Mile like they do up in the D, just send me to hell or Salt Lake City it'd be about the same to me," U. Kracker


As George Kell used to open the old WDIV broadcasts, "Hello Everybody!" It's been awhile for me to appear on this blog wave ~ I know.

So here's the news: we're in the middle of August and the lead on ESPN SportCenter each night is a second place team from the American League East. Eventually after they self-promote and ask every Boston columnist why Papelbon's ERA is above .9, just then do they flash the Tiger boxscore.

Can anyone name the skipper who stacks his starting rotation just so they can face a divisional leader for two consecutive weeks and in the process forcing the best rookie pitcher in the big leagues to the DL ? That's right ! It's "Gardy!" What a leader, risking the bright future of a young superstar just so the Twins don't get bitch slapped by a team that doesn't cut corners with it's roster ~ "The Tigahs!", E. Harwell.

This season has been something I've waited for going on literally decades. In a sense, I feel like a Comerica Pioneer. All of us who witnessed the bitterness of the early 2000's should. There was Mike and I, sitting in the bleachers in April 2002, 47 degrees, 5,000 fans, Angels 10, "Tigahs" 0. The heckles for Tim Salmon, " ..Never had an arm.." came the shouts. Who would've thought the turn around would've happened this rapidly ? Certainly not this gent. I said 78 wins in 2006. They have that total nearing the middle of August. Good thing I'm not a gambler.

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The method behind the madness: A retort

CHICAGO - The morning papers are reporting that Guillen's ejection was a calculated protest of an entire series of questionable calls in the field, and Sox pitchers' strike zones getting squeezed. And I mean extremely calculated; he flat out told reporters before the game he would be gone by the fifth (he was off by an inning).

I don't remember any particularly egregious umpiring decisions in the series although, man, I haven't seen Yankee hitters 'work the count' like that in years.

As far as him kidding about Vazquez making it to the 7th inning, that was a straight up joke. And after a season's worth of starts like Thursday's (5 innings, 6 hits, 8 walks) I think a little levity is in order any time Javy's still on the mound when the lights take effect.

I can’t really defend Ozzie’s antics in a larger sense. It’s possible to do, just very tiring. What I can defend pretty easily is his record, which includes a World Series and a playoff berth, were the season to end today. So until he actually hits somebody or something, I’m in his corner.
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Look for me and Steve 10 rows behind the plate Sunday. We'll be the ones not cheering for anybody.

Dodgies! Dodgies! Sox. Sox.

First and foremost:

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in first place in the NL West. Worst to freakin' first in a month? It might not be a pretty season, but it's a fun season.

Second and not-as-important:

The Chicago White Sox are quickly becoming my least favorite team thanks to Ozzie Guillen. What is with this guy? He makes this talented bunch of guys look like a bunch of punks. I grew up hating the Twins and "couldn't care less"ing about the Sox. Now, it's reversed. The Twins are a class act and the Sox do things like last night's game against the Yankees where:

--Yanks give up four (FOUR!!) runs thanks to a series of errors and mishaps, ending up losing by one run.
--Guillen gets tossed several innings later for berating an umpire about a good call at first, then proceeds to show up the homeplate umpire with profanities...why? One close call in a game where they've been spotted four runs. Pathetic.

Just a few days back, he expressed public surprise that a struggling starter made it past the 7th Inning Stretch. I really can't imagine playing for that guy. Why would you want to win for a manager like that?

React to me, Chicago! It's your show!

My Post on Nate Robertson's Gum Time Blog

Nate,

Gum Time is alive and well out in Los Angeles. I live out here with a few other friends from Michigan State, and we follow every game, either on TV or online (work can be so inconvenient sometimes). Some of us Angeleno-Michiganders have been back to the Mitten in the past month or so, and all of us have made it a point to attend multiple Tigers games.

This is the most exciting sports story to come out of the state of Michigan since, well, 1984. More than the Bad Boys, more than the Larry Brown Pistons, more than the Lions' only playoff win (which I attended), more than Barry's 2,000-yard season.

Keep it up, man. We've got you covered in SoCal.

Best,

Craig Gaines

Posted by: cbgaines@gmail.com | August 9, 2006 03:31 PM

Freddy Garcia didn't pitch horribly

That fact in itself earns a post to 90 Percent.

Dimitri Young Just Hit a Triple

That fact in itself earns a post to 90 Percent.

Some Scattershot Thoughts on the Tigers

• Craig Monroe has become so clutch it's pimp. He'll henceforth be referred to as Clutch Monroe.
• The whole team is clutch. It's to the point now that I feel very comfortable when the Tigers are behind late in games. The bullpen gets the big outs, and someone ends up getting a key base hit.
• They sometimes leave too many men on base, but the White Sox were notable last year for winning most of its games by narrow margins. I think it ended up making them more playoff ready. The Tigers are following the same path: Getting used to competing for every inning, developing a sense of inevitable and earned-for victory.
• If things go a certain way this season, I'll give my firstborn the middle name of "Casey."
• Jamie Walker is my favorite pitcher in the bullpen. Yes, more than Zumaya.
• I think we'll want to remember the Pudge Walkoff Homer game for another reason: It's the game where Kenny Rogers came out of his funk. He allowed three quick runs, made some adjustments, and threw a one-hitter for this next 6 and a third.
  

*****

Three Prognostications of Pudge's Walkoff Homer

JOE REXRODE: "I've been saying this weekend that Pudge is due."
HUDSON: "Now here's another clutch hitter." (As Pudge walks up to the plate.)
GAINES: "End it." (As Carmona is making his delivery.)

Why George Steinbrenner Cheeses Me Off, Part 6,491

SO LONG FU MANCHU

You might recall that earlier in the season I posted about Sal Fasano and how seeing the Philadelphia fans respond to him was a highlight of my trip to Citizen's Bank park. Sal was made for South Phili--he knew it and they knew it and that made for a lovely and unlikely synchronicity and tons of genuine enthusiasm. Best of all was Sal's fu manchu, a signature look in a game that always needs personality . . .

Well anyway, a few weeks ago, the Yankees traded for Fasano, not only separating him from a natural home in Philadelphia, but obliging him to conform to the Yankee grooming policy. The fu manchu is gone, the mangy hair is gone, the South Phili fan club is gone and the Yankees are still the most annoying organization in pro sports.